Organised Religion

An impediment to economic-socio-political well-being of the Philippines are organised religions. If we assume that asphyxia from the callous hands of morphed Sadducees, Essenes and Pharisees – has been, we need to think again.

Organised religions were, and are obstacles for proper governance in the Philippines. History books and current events have encyclopaedic examples where they wanted to dictate on how the State should govern its people. This is not new news, but if the State will not keep her eyes on the ball, they are waiting patiently to seize the day.

The Philippines in spite of her achievements and laid-back attitude about life, is still at the fingertips of those standing behind the rostrum on weekends. One of them is the richest in the world only rivalled by Mohammedanism and the other one demands strict compliance of Old Testament concept of tithes.

Some areas where organised religions have the upper hand over the State:

Taxation. In general, they are exempt from financial reporting and disclosure requirements that likewise apply to other not for profit organisations. And it turns out that such exemption produced an unintended undesirable consequences.

Population. According to the Department of Health in 2010, our population was 93,135,102. This year it will reach 104 Million. How many ‘kaban’ of rice are needed to feed 104 Million? Population density per square kilometre in the Philippines is 358.

Death is a self-inflected design flaw and to rectify this we cultivate our desire for immortality. Immortality is being presented in different guises and different packages by different organised religions. We are spoiled for choices, aren’t we? For this reason that we are doing everything to secure a policy insurance and willing to pay a high premium.

One of the guises of immortality that relates to politicos in the Philippines is that their names will be etched in the lexicon of the country’s history, in the meantime, enjoying the power that goes with it and the capacity to amass large amount of Benjamin Franklins (not all of them of course).

Am I against organised religions? All I can say is this, the State via her elected government officials MUST exert her inherent powers and square up with the YIN’s (as opposed to YAN). Our Government is as if a legless Mercury against a version of performance enhancing would be drug taker Hussain Bolt. Those inherent powers should be utilised to balance the realm and having equal the playing fields – the very essence of fair play rule.

The adulterous relationship between the organised religions and the majority of elected government officials is an open secret. This is a blatant violation of the ‘wall of separation between Church and State’. Thomas Jefferson explains this in his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.”

The nagging question is, “When will we (the sovereign Filipino People) eventually able to separate the State from the wimps of organised religions?” Your guess is as good as mine. Our history that was written in the bloods of Katipuneros, Illustrados and Mestizos should be our gold standard. They will all rise from their graves (if that is all possible) out of frustration that everything they fought mutated into a new form, to the same adverse result for our country.

I believe in the separation of church and state. The Church should have no business interfering with the state and vise versa. But I think we are forgetting someone here, “WE”- first person plural. We means, the people-the sovereign. “We” was not only made yesterday, by that i mean we did not invented “mano po” or the custom of respect for the elders just yesterday. It was made by decades if not hundred years of tradition and culture. I once read a quote from a book that says “societies are made up of the living, the unborn and the dead”. Societies are made by the people sharing common ideas and way of life. These traditions guide us on where we are headed as well as preparing us on living our lives. These are things that are dear to us and close to our hearts justifying our drive to conserve it and retain it for the future generations. One good example is our judeo-christian tradition . In this tradition largely based in the gospels and the life of Christ, we learn the value of forgiveness, sacrifice and redemption. We also make importance in the value of family, love and loyalty. You cannot take out these traditions from societies because these are the things that are dear to people and society. The government also has no right to intervene in these affairs as it is not the state that makes countries but the people living in it with their traditions, customs including religion.